Jeremy Ferrer
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The CFO of an SME does not take care of the drafting of accounting documents. However, it is in his best interest to be concerned with various operations, their control and organization in accounting as the guardian of the temple. Here are some suggestions for organizing and checking the Diaries of OD in accounting. We also explain to you the checks that can be carried out by the tax authorities and auditors, as well as the most effective ways to avoid them.
Before going into organizational tips for accounting for various transactions, a reminder of how these types of entries work is provided.
One of the auxiliary journals that exist in commitment accounting is the journal of various transactions. It should be used when there are no purchases, sales, or cash flow in operations.
In accounting, what is a miscellaneous transaction?
It is a document that gives the possibility to modify the accounts included in the General Accounting Plan (PCG). The accounting database is represented by an operation. The reference in the accounting document justifies it.
A final statement with the balance sheet, the income statement and the appendix is obtained by combining all the entries made in different documents, called journals.
As the name suggests, OD covers a variety of expenses or income that are not classified in traditional accounting journals. Therefore, these are not transactions related to purchases, sales or cash management (bank and cash register). It can quickly become a tote bag! That's why accounting ODs are usually spread across multiple journals, like drawers or shelves.
The miscellaneous transaction is linked to an auxiliary accounting journal, like any accounting entry. The legal obligations in the field of newspapers must be quickly recalled.
a - The obligation to keep an accounting journal
As the site entreendre.service.public.fr (https://entreprendre.service-public.fr/vosdroits/F21852) recalls, the compulsory accounting documents for companies subject to the real taxation regime include: The inventory book, the journal book and the general ledger.
All operations, regardless of their nature, are recorded chronologically in the logbook. The date, the reference that allows you to find the supporting document and the source of the recorded data are included in each entry.
A miscellaneous transaction is recorded in the general accounting journal in the same way as other transactions. It is imperative to respect the following principles:
b - Various accounting OD journals
In practice, the journal-book is divided into auxiliary journals to organize accounting entries according to their nature. Thus, OD's journal (s) are auxiliary journals, just like those concerning purchases, sales, or cash flow.
The organization of accounting in most SMEs provides for several OD journals to distribute entries according to:
The centralizing and restorative writings are the two main categories of OD. They do not have the same objectives or the same types of controls.
a - Centralizing accounting ODs
Payroll software is used to write salaries and social security contributions. In accounting, they perform automatic transfers, file integrations, and sometimes even manual entry. Thus, the payroll OD journal is used to group the data from the HR application.
The following DOs are considered to be various centralizing operations:
We also need to include the Depreciation expense entries. They come from calculations carried out in the fixed assets module of an ERP or a particular software. Calculated expenses or income, as opposed to purchases, sales, or cash flow, are those accounting movements that are generally not extractable.
With regard to the VAT, it is necessary to draw up the corresponding act after the tax has been declared. In addition, it is a Centralizing OD.
Finally, among this category of various transactions, you can find entries concerning stocks at the end of the month, provisions for invoices to be established or received, etc. For monthly situations and the balance sheet for the fiscal year, various entries are required.
b - OD regularization of previous entries
These various operations called restorative are used to correct incorrect accounting entries, errors in meaning, amount, accounting code, etc. Initial entries in bank or cash accounts may be affected. Justification and traceability are crucial because they correct anomalies.
Restorative ODs refer to all movements related to the repair of an accounting error that occurred in another accounting journal such as:
These low amount ODs can be generated automatically according to the levels authorized by the accounting settings. The same applies to differences in the lettering of third party accounts.
The general journal contains all the accounting entries that have been made in accounting. It is a general newspaper that is divided into several distinct journals with:
The type of journal used depends on the type of writing to be written. It is possible to change the accounts in the Journal of Various Operations as long as it does not concern purchases, sales, or cash flow.
ODs have various definitions and are often manual. There are plenty of reasons to organize your OD journals well, including rationalization of the ranking, the management of records and even their expulsion.
By organizing data in a logical and detailed manner, you are pursuing several interesting goals for effective financial management. As a CFO, discuss this topic with the accounting manager to help them better structure the information.
a - Use a classification by nature to make the various writings legible
La Multiplication of OD journals In accounting, first of all, it is used to organize accounting movements in a fine manner. You don't put different types of clothing on the same shelf or drawer in a closet. This also applies to the various forms of writing. Feel free to create journals based on nature, use, origin, etc. The journal code makes it easier to analyze and read the ledger.
b - Automate output accounting entries
The provisions FNP (invoices not received) or FAE (invoices to be prepared) must be entered for monthly accounting situations. These entries at the end of the period are generally different from those at the beginning of the following period. The conversion of an exactly reversed entry to debit as well as to credit is called output from the OD.
This type of treatment is obviously automated to save time and make the operation more reliable. Therefore, the company simplifies its accounting processes by isolating entries in an exchangeable OD journal as opposed to a non-exchangeable OD journal. With just a few clicks, the entire OD log is deleted.
c - Quickly find the sources of the ledger.
Having several different transaction logs means that several log codes are present in the general ledger. This makes it possible to quickly identify the nature of the writing for auditors, sophisticated readers, accountants, and management controllers. This facilitates the traceability of supporting documents. Remember that this is an important question in accounting, especially for various transactions.
It's good to split accounting records into several journals. However, it is necessary to supervise this task, otherwise the disorder is likely to occur quickly. Therefore, each OD journal must be specified in the accounting software. Each OD journal must be managed according to various criteria, such as the opening and closing of the journal, the accounts authorized for the movement, the persons authorized to enter the entries, automatic expulsion or not, etc.
Any accounting entries in the general ledger should be justified as mentioned earlier. Ensure that each OD is accompanied by a dematerialized piece supporting the writing, including OD bug fixes. This aspect is checked by using surveys and verifying the existence of an accounting file for each month-end situation.
The processing generally involves the integration of an accounting file from a payroll software through an automated interface. It is also necessary to properly configure the process, which sometimes occurs as a cascade treatment overnight. It is necessary to manage integration errors in accounting and to monitor anomaly and rejection states. Only the accounting manager is often authorized to process sensitive data.
Legal auditors and tax authorities often find OD in accounting interesting to look at. The risk seems greater for these accounting movements insofar as some of them correspond to corrections of errors and that these are sometimes manual entries.
Depending on the level of risk estimated during the internal control analysis, auditors who intervene in the context of their legal mission carry out various verifications. From their point of view, accounting DOs are in an interesting position.
They process OD logs with specific tools that help detect anomalies. For example, they are particularly responsible for movements whose meaning seems irrational. They take into account the words used in the title of each letter, such as “error”, “refund”, “overpaid” or “overpaid”, etc. They also try to verify authorized access to the ODs according to the newspapers as well as the actual hours and days of entry.
OD in accounting and fiscal control
In the same way, records of various transactions are particularly examined during a tax audit. The basis for the administration's fiscal audit intervention is the FEC. The log code is one of its 18 required fields. The same types of anomalies are examined by the inspector as those identified by an auditor.
Observe your DOs in order to reduce the risks that ODs may present in accounting and to anticipate the interventions of external auditors or a fiscal audit. The more regular audits and surveys you perform, especially when creating monthly situations, the more confident you are in your accounting. In case of an audit, make sure that these accounting DOs are all justified by a tangible document that is easily identifiable.
Obviously, rectifying ODs are likely to contain the most anomalies because they do not correspond to a regular and mass flow treatment. Your accounting becomes more reliable and secure if you reduce these entries. How to do it?
a - How can reparative ODs be minimized?
This security involves controlling the interfaces of purchases, sales and financial flows. Many corrective entries of the OD type correspond to configuration problems in applications such as commercial management or purchasing. Invoices are sent to incorrect accounts or cost centers, or even on incorrect accounting dates.
b - Tools to improve the management of accounting flows
You gain reliability and efficiency by using dematerialized applications that process all expenses from order to payment. This is the guarantee that the rectifying ODs are limited.
c - Observation and organization of accounting DOs
It guarantees the reliability of its accounting, the reduction of the risks of errors and the ease of various audits and verifications. By automating, streamlining, and dematerializing financial flows, you also reduce the need for accounting DOs.
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